As the story unfolds I think opinions will/can change, I'm glad we're still discussing this as its become a learning curve for me anyway, my experiences with shipping evidently differ from others and in the future I'll be a bit more aware of possibilities.

Things I've picked up are, General seems to be trying to resolve the issue as fair as they can, Redmond maybe not.
Contrary to what I first thought, Gary did what he was advised to and it went sour, not his fault imho and I think he has a reason to be unhappy.
I'd think at this point Redmond or General (not sure who's at fault in the shipping deal, but suspect Redmond) should be doing all they can to rectify the problem, and a set of knife's or ? maybe should be sent to improve customer relations.
Either way, good luck Gary and let us know how it goes.

Just a thought fwiw
Al